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Author Archives: Sparky

Three nights in North East PA

Our home for three nights in North East PA was the Holiday Inn Express & Suites. We would have preferred a 2-night stay, but it was Labor Day weekend and we really didn’t want to be on the road on Labor Day, so we opted for the extra day. We are glad we did. This … Continue reading »

Categories: Adventures, Food, Friends, Hotels, PA, Places, TS8 | Leave a comment

TS8 Hop 2: Elmira NY to North East PA

202 miles via I-86 and PA 89, with a lunch stop in Falconer NY. Cumulative TS8 route miles: 532. Cumulative car miles: 574. Miles since the end of Hop 1: 246. The 44 extra miles were due to the trip to the Corning Museum of Glass. The day was cloudy but the traffic was light … Continue reading »

Categories: Food, Hotels, NY, PA, Places, Routes, TS8 | Leave a comment

The Corning Museum of Glass

Corning NY is home to both Corning, Inc, a major manufacturer of glass, and the Museum of Glass, an institution that pays tribute to all things glass. We spent a better part of the day visiting the museum and Ooma’s assessment – echoed by me – was “one of the best museums ever.” High praise … Continue reading »

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TS8 Hop 1: Worcester MA to Elmira NY

323 miles via I-90, I-87, I-88 and I-86 with a breakfast stop in West Springfield MA. Cumulative TS8 route miles: 323. This was an easy trip to navigate, which is good as my cell phone GPS froze before getting to Albany. The weather was good and the traffic was light, so it was mostly an … Continue reading »

Categories: MA, NY, Places, Routes, TS8 | Leave a comment

A month in Worcester MA

If you have been paying attention you will have noticed that, during our month in Worcester MA, we have been doing a lot of traveling to other places in New England. Three days in Portsmouth NH, 2 days in the Berkshires, 2 day trips to CT, a day trip to Wilmington MA and a day … Continue reading »

Categories: Family, Food, MA, Places | Leave a comment

“Lamb” by Christoper Moore

Copyright 2002 by Christopher Moore. Published by William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, New York. The subtitle is “The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal.” That is a good capsule summary. Did you wonder what Christ did in those years between his appearance at the temple at 12 and the start of his … Continue reading »

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Family time in NH, CT and MA

Ooma and I did a lot of traveling this week (what else is new?) to visit family in NH, CT and MA. First, on Friday, a trip to NH to visit Chuck, Ooma’s brother. The two highlights were lunch at the Mountainview Station Restaurant in Center Ossipee and meeting his hilariously entertaining kitten, Brody. The … Continue reading »

Categories: CT, Family, Food, MA, NH, Places | Leave a comment

Two days in the Berkshires

In our continuing effort to take vacations-within-our-vacation, Ooma and I traveled to the Berkshires region of western Massachusetts this past weekend to stay with my college roommate, Hutch (the guy with the trees sprouting from his left ear in the photo), and his wife Linda. They also invited 3 other couples, all of the men … Continue reading »

Categories: Adventures, Food, Friends, MA, Places | 2 Comments

Eighth trip south (TS8) preview

We are now less than 2 weeks away from our planned departure from Worcester. That would be the start of my 8th trip south which I will designate ‘TS8’. This will be longer and more complex than the trip north (TN8) as it includes a trip west to Wisconsin before heading back to Florida. So … Continue reading »

Categories: Family, Pets, Preparation/Planning, TS8 | Leave a comment

Three days in Portsmouth NH

Ooma treated me to three nights at The Hotel Portsmouth – a “boutique” hotel in Portsmouth NH. It is a lovely old building with updated rooms and all the amenities that one would expect from a superior hotel – tile shower, newer fixtures, a large flat-screen TV and a very comfortable king-size bed. Our room … Continue reading »

Categories: Adventures, Friends, Hotels, ME, NH, Places | Leave a comment